This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
It is hard to imagine that a smallseed like the soybean could be so important. But it is a big exportcrop for many countries. At the same time, soybeans are in greatdemand. We may think of wheat and corn as the most valuable crops.Of course, they remain very important. But in many ways, the soybeanis even more valuable.
The soybean is high in protein and carbohydrates. Its fat can bemade into oil. Soybeans are used to make food for people and farmanimals. Per hectare of land, the soybean can produce ten times moreprotein than beef cattle. These are some of the reasons why soybeanshave become one of the three major crops.
The United States Department of Agriculture studies the world’scrop production. It released a report in February. The reportprovides information that goes back more than twenty years. It alsoestimates what world markets will be like up to two-thousand-twelve.
The report says that the use of soybeans has increased for morethan twenty years. The amount of exported soybeans is about equal towheat. Corn remains the biggest export crop. But, soybean pricesremain about two times as high as those of wheat and corn.
Soybean prices have remained strong in America because cropsurpluses are never very great. In the mid-nineteen-eighties, cornand wheat surpluses were extremely large. Prices dropped sharply.Today, soybean surpluses are as small as they have ever been inrelation to the amount used.
Yet, world competition is strong. In years past, soybeans fromthe United States filled the world market. Today, Argentina andBrazil have equaled the United States in soybean exports. TheEuropean Union and China are major importers.
The Department of Agriculture expects South American productionto continue to grow. It expects Brazil to become the world’s biggestsoybean exporter in a few years. This is because Brazil isincreasing the amount of land used for crops at a high rate.
Some experts worry that soybeans may not remain a competitivecrop for the United States. They think that American farmers maybegin to import soybean products to feed their animals. This newcompetition also could drive prices lower. Yet, the governmentestimates that demand in the United States will continue to increase– protecting prices. With expanding markets everywhere, the littlesoybean is a big part of the world agricultural market.
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by MarioRitter.